


Agape's Memoria

by midorimortem



Category: Force of Will - Fandom
Genre: AU, Altern Universe in which I don't want Mariabella to die, Betrayal, Drama, F/M, FowTCG, Lots of blood in all of those timelines, Tragedy, different timelines, world cataclysm
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-02
Updated: 2017-02-11
Packaged: 2018-09-03 18:59:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 20,306
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8726455
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/midorimortem/pseuds/midorimortem
Summary: Different takes on Mariabella's death during the Battle for Attoractia storyline.Posted on Fanfiction and Ao3





	1. Memory of Unconditional Love- Resurrection

**Author's Note:**

> Agape is the Late Latin word from Greek ἀγάπη, literally, love. It's often referred by Christianity as the love for each other and love for God, as a supreme form of affection, also described as unconditional love, given from parents to children or between spouses. Agape is contrasting to Eros, a form of love that refers to desire and physical pleasure; Agape is selflessness, sacrifice and devotion to the loved one.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just when Mariabella is about to finish his experiments successfully, sacrificing her own life for its sake, Machina finds her in the brink of death. The scientist manages to save her before it's too late, but he must take drastic measures to assure his beloved assistant will survive another winter in the Mechanical City. If only he had listened, if only he had told her she had more time on her hands than he initially believed…

The steam ship announced itself the minute it became ready for departure. With doubtful hands, the young girl held onto her master's clothes, as firmly as she possibly could. Her still-weakened body barely allowed her to move freely. The man reached down to her side to help her walk, bringing her closer to him as possible and he wrapped his scarf around her neck carefully. He was warm. He had always been.

"I hope this trip does help your health." Machina said once they had boarded the silver-colored ship, glancing at his small-framed assistant shiver from the breeze. "At least the weather will not affect your situation much."

"It's fine." Mariabella answered with guilt on her eyes. She fixed the scarf on her face as her master walked her to her cabin. He'd go to the captain to set the course and he'd be back in a minute to check on her. "Please, don't waste your time on something like this, Master."

"It is no waste of time. You're my responsibility, after all." The scientist admitted, patting her head with tenderness. "...I am also to blame for everything that happen. I must atone for it and make sure you have a safe recovery. Shangri-La is known for its healing waters and enjoyable weather; it will be nicer than letting you freeze here in Leginus."

The scientist closed the door after making her lie on the bed, making sure she rested until he came back. Machina stopped halfway through on his way to the captain's cabin. He closed his eyes, grabbing firmly onto the steel bars on the side of the boat. He could feel another headache coming up.

The ship was about to depart, setting course to the tropical southern lands beneath the Mechanical City. The new engine would make the trip faster, yet it would still take them at least a few days to reach their destination. The newly appointed emperor truly despised Shangri-La –not the city itself, but its future queen made his skin crawl– but he knew it would help Mariabella get a fast recovery.

"Stupid girl" Machina cursed under his breath as he tried to repress the pain in his head. "If she hadn't disobeyed my orders, this wouldn't have happened...", but no matter how much he tried to deny it or how much he wanted to place the blame on Mariabella, he knew it all had been his fault. If only he had paid more attention to her actions. If only he'd have shut his mouth for a second.

Machina glanced at the ocean waves as the ship began to gain speed. He wasn't prone to seasickness, yet the headache and the lack of sleep he'd been through the past days made it impossible for him to keep still on the boat's deck. He sighed, removing his lenses to rub his eyes as he began walking around.

Ever since the incident the week before, the researcher must have only enjoyed around five scarce hours of sleep. The images of the tragedy were still fresh on his mind, with clear detail of the girl's bright blood bathing her clothes, tainting his white coat as soon as he reached to help her. His whole time and energy had been focused on keeping her stabilized from then on, afraid she might vanish within the bat of an eye. Whenever he closed his eyes for a few minutes of sleep, he was woken up by the bloody images of Mariabella's broken body, her thorax wide open and her artificial heart exposed. No sleeping at all, barely even eating, Machina felt completely tired, even sick.

Mariabella had disobeyed and wandered inside the warehouse, after learning the secret details of the investigation he had been working on for the past years. A human heart, the Willpower of a human soul was needed to create the perfect, functional artificial living being. Machina had reached that conclusion several months ago, back when he'd saved Mariabella the first time. But as he spent more time with her, teaching her and appointing the girl as his personal assistant, he had begun to become invested on her.

The scientist had promised her a year, but she was quickly improving, surpassing his expectations. After just some months of being with her, he was unable to use her as he had initially wished. If he had only listened, he would have noticed she felt she was running out of time. If they had talked about the possibilities of her life' expectancy, she'd have probably thought twice before offering her own life as payment for everything he had done for her. But Machina didn't listen. He never stopped talking about his research. Mariabella asked what would make him happy, insisting she had never been happier before, just from being by his side. If only he had paid her the attention she deserved, she'd have not attempted to end her life in a stupid sacrifice for his sake.

That terrible evening Mariabella had asked for a break to go for a walk. Machina conceded, acknowledging she was making a swift recovery and assumed he'd go pick the missing pieces he had asked her to buy. After a few hours since the girl had been gone, Machina decided to head to the shop. Right at the door, he was unable to remember one of the components he needed. Mariabella had written them down, she must had left the notes on her desk in the main lab. He made his way down to the room, finding the door unlocked. He found it odd, since no servant had a key to the lab but him and the girl.

As Machina made his way inside, he noticed the lights were on and that a strong smell of blood and machine oil reeked inside the place. He panicked for a second as realization dawned on him, Mariabella's request for a break was nothing but a ruse. She sat on his chair, in front of the main desk with the mechanical core of her chest cracked open. Veins and wires leaked blood, water and oil as the girl operated on herself, trying to detach the artificially-enhanced heart Machina had managed to give her some months before.

Her eyes opened wide as she was discovered, unable to pronounce any word, but she evidently perceived Machina's grief. After a brief moment of indecision, he removed the scalpel and tools from her hands. He screamed, calling one of the maids for help.

"We have to move her, but I have to stabilize her first." He ordered. The maid was surprised to hear him shout, as Machina rarely raised his voice. She covered her mouth the moment she noticed what the emergency was all about. The maid applied anesthesia to the girl and waited for further instructions, while the scientist continued to mend the clumsy cuts Mariabella had made on herself. He had to stitch and fuse quickly, applying more mechanical parts to the few organic ones that had been compromised.

After six hours of continuous work, Mariabella's pulse started to beep normally. The scientist had ordered the maid to prepare her room for her recovery, carrying the girl on his arms steadily as he was afraid he might harm her if he moved her carelessly. Once inside her room, the maids placed the IV drop and the heartbeat reader on Mariabella, while the researcher returned to the lab to check on the desk his assistant had been working on. The plans and notes from his research were all opened on the discarded drafts about the operation. He was amazed that Mariabella had managed to figure how to do the surgery on her own, though in a very rudimentary way.

In some of her own notes scribbled at the moment, with trembling and bloodstained fingers, she even wrote some comments on how to make the procedure a success. She even suggested a prototype that had shown a lot of improvement, a large steel doll they'd been working for a while, model MYB II. It was incredible than in just a couple of months as his assistant, she had managed to proceed with the operation and even make her own conclusions for the project. He shivered. If he had gone to the supply shop as he had intended, she'd have succeeded. She'd have finished his research, but he'd not have arrived in time to save her.

He was unable to sleep that first night, waiting to hear the heartbeat stop at any moment, yet he rested by her side until she regained consciousness, almost two days afterwards. He had dismissed the servants and asked them to stay alert if an emergency happened, but she didn't falter at any moment.

"Master... does it hurt...?" She groaned, waking him up violently.

"Mary! You're finally awake..." He tried to conceal his excitement, but the girl noticed he had jumped abruptly from his seat and he smiled widely as she woke. It was also the first time he called her Mary. "I should be asking you, not otherwise."

"You were crying..." She said, trying to smile. Machina reached up to his face to find a trail of tears on his left cheek. "I suppose you were having a bad dream."

"I had", he answered and held her hand firmly.

It was the only way he could feel he had a chance of stopping her from going away.

Machina sighed, trying to focus his mind on something other than the memories of that day and the growing pain on his temple. He had sent a letter to Shangri-La two days ago, expecting to receive an answer briefly during their trip. He couldn't spare more time if he wanted to keep his assistant alive, taking her to the healing springs was necessary if he wanted her to recover. A year ago it hadn't been necessary, she was barely alive when he caught her outside of her parents' house. Her life wasn't worth saving back then, she'd just be part of the research he had been doing for years, forgotten after she'd proven to be useless as every other subject of his experiments. But things had changed so quickly, he even willed to talk to Valentina once again if it helped the situation. He would have laughed at himself if he knew he'd have grown so attached to her during the course of a year. She livened up the mansion so much it would have turned into a sour, somber place if she had never arrived, or if she had vanished during the operation.

The scientist reached the captain's cabin just as he had finished giving instructions to the ship's crew. They greeted him with respect and the emperor explained they needed to reach Shangri-La in no less than three days, working at full speed in order for that to happen. He rarely gave out instructions to his employees, as he trusted he'd searched for only the best, but he was worried time might be running short for the girl. He wasn't even sure the healing fountains would actually help her... But it was the best he could think for her at the moment.

He left the crew to do their bidding and walked back to the room with Mariabella. She wasn't asleep but she rested on her back, staring at the ceiling.

"You should be taking a nap" Machina scolded her with worry.

"I can't sleep. It doesn't hurt but the new insertions are itchy." Mary answered. She glanced down at her hands and Machina noticed her eyes had started to water. She was obviously lying. Perhaps her body wasn't aching, but she was clearly in pain.

"Lying is bad, Mariabella. What's wrong?" The girl shook her head, but he insisted on making her talk.

"I failed, Master... I could have finished it. Now I'm just a burden to you and I can't sleep thinking I just ruined everything you've been working on..." She cried, covering her face with her hands in shame. Machina reached to her and embraced her gently, making sure not to apply much pressure or she might get hurt. "W-why are you hugging me?"

"Because I'm glad you're still here." Mariabella pushed herself away slightly, looking at him with disbelief. "The requirements needed for success on that line of work are beyond inhumane, not to mention impossible and immoral. As researchers and engineers, we must use technology to help people, not to harm them. You opened my eyes towards a new project in the future, and for that I'm thankful. I just wish you wouldn't have hurt yourself in the process." Machina explained, sighing in defeat.

"What about your dream...? Making a living machine..." She asked. He made her lie back on the bed again and covered her with a blanket.

"There will be another chance for that." He said as he tucked her in and squeezed her shoulder with tenderness. "For now, I'm so sorry, Mary. I was such a blind fool, you deserved better than this. I hope you're willing to forgive me."

Mariabella shook her head, insisting there was nothing to be forgiven. She was grateful she'd been allowed to live longer, and she was happy she'd gotten the chance to be with someone as kind as her master.

"My only wish is to continue working as your assistant, Master, if you will." The girl said with a tired voice. Machina assured her that would be certain if she promised she'd make a full recovery. Once she had fallen asleep, the scientist sighed and laid his back on the wall, closing his eyes in a failed attempt to catch some light sleep. He couldn't leave Mariabella's side, in case an emergency happened. He'd have more than enough time to rest once he made sure Mary was going to make it through the night.

"I promise I'll make you better, dear." He muttered to the sleeping girl besides him, touching her forehead with his nonmechanical hand. "For as long as I am capable of protecting you, I'll never have you suffer like this ever again".


	2. Memory of Unconditional Love- The Paradise of the Sea

The ship arrived safely at Shangri-La's main port after three long days of traveling. Their voyage hadn't been as peaceful and pleasurable as Machina would have liked, but he had actually managed to take her there, safe and sound. Once they had set foot on foreign land, the odd couple began dragging the attention of those around them: after all they were a frail young girl accompanied by an adult scientist with a prosthetic steel arm, quite older than her and evidently not related to each other. The elegant, thick clothing worn by both covered their pale skin, unusual to the common tan of the people of Shangri-La. They were the only ones wearing more than one layer of clothing, given the fact that they had traveled from a colder country into a tropical peninsula. They were quite a feast to the eyes of the locals.

"Pay no mind to them." Machina said as he pushed her forward and carried both of their luggage, avoiding the prying eyes of the merchants. "I suppose we're peculiar or somewhat anomalous to their day to day life. Even if Leginus and Shangri-La do have a trading contract and sailors and merchants come and go from here, I must assume it's not common for the nobles from our country to come here."

"Master, where are we going?" Mariabella asked. She immediately noticed the warmer weather helped her move quicker and her breathing wasn't as convoluted as it usually was. The cold and the smog from Leginus were possibly great aggravations to her health.

"I'll explain later. For the moment, we're going to meet with one of the Princess's squires, I believe. She answered earlier that she'd send someone to receive us. She didn't describe her, though." Machina said grabbing the girl's hand so that she'd not walk astray and get lost. "But knowing Valentina as I do, I have an idea of what kind of person she'd have sent."

"A-are you friends with Princess Valentina?" Mary stuttered, following closely behind.

"Friends is not the word I'd go for." Unlikely to her master, Machina spoke with dread on his voice. Mariabella assumed there must have been some tension between them in their past which Machina didn't want to talk about. "No, we're in good terms for the sake of our nations... we must put our differences apart and keep personal matters to ourselves."

"Aren't we visiting because of personal matters?" Mary asked.

"Skeptical, aren't we? I'm not here as the heir of Leginus, we're here as civilians. Valentina owes me a couple of favors, either way." Machina stopped, searching for the squire on the main plaza. She was supposed to take them to their inn and walk them to the healing springs later that same evening, but the young woman was nowhere to be found. Machina inspected his pocket watch: the girl was still on time, because they had arrived around five minutes earlier.

"Oh, sweet heavens! You arrived before me!" A beautiful young woman exclaimed as she approached them in a hurry. She had bright, silver hair and entrancing teal-colored eyes, the same turquoise tone as the sea. She wore a large blue dress, tight around the waist and her torso, but loose on the lower part, down onto her knees. The girl was about Mariabella's age, perhaps two or three years older than her. "I'm sorry for the delay, you must be Lord Machina… my name is Shion, I'm Lady Valentina's personal assistant, it's a pleasure to meet you, milord."

"Machina is just fine, Shion, thank you. You're just in time, don't fret about it." He shook her hand and the young woman bowed at him with respect immediately. "Lady Valentina informed me you'd be our guide during our stay, am I right?"

"Yes, whatever it is you wish to do, I'm most pleased to assist you, sir." Shion answered, looking at Mariabella with interest. "And who might this be?"

"She's my assistant, Mariabella. I'm sure Valentina told you the reason for our visit."

"Oh, nice to meet you, miss!" Shion greeted the girl, who answered shyly in return. "No, she didn't, she just issued the order to accompany you for the next few days. She also sent you this…" The aide took a letter from her purse, written in pearly white paper with black ink and an elegant calligraphy.

"I'm not here to attend official business." Machina explained, raising an eyebrow as he read the letter. "It's actually an emergency of some sort, I told her that with the missive I sent her."

"She knew you'd say something like that, and insisted I tried to convince you to come to the palace, tomorrow night." Shion looked as if she was ashamed of forcing him to do so, but both knew Valentina's wishes were orders in her land. Machina sighed and shrugged in defeat.

"Fine. After all, I'm better off if I don't put her off on her bad side."

"Wonderful!" Shion exclaimed, taking Mariabella's luggage from her Master's hands. "Let's go to the inn immediately. On our way, please tell me what's this emergency about. I'll write a letter to her while you get ready, confirming your assistance."

After Machina explained everything to the maiden, her happy-go-lucky attitude changed to a serious one. She insisted on taking Mary to the springs immediately after opening hours were done, so that she'd enjoy the waters for herself and make a quicker recovery. She'd send her letter quickly and she'd accompany them to the springs at once, so that Shion could talk the manager about letting them get inside for free. Given the fact that Mariabella didn't know how to swim, the only condition the shopkeeper asked for was that someone accompanied the young girl during her stay at the spring, since they'd not have their safeguards watching on them.

"I can stay if you want, sir." Shion said, but Machina noticed immediately that his assistant was reluctant about going in on her own with a complete stranger. Mariabella wasn't like that most of the times, but she used to keep her ward up against newcomers.

"Don't worry, Shion. Is it possible to go in with her?"

"Sure, good sir… You're her guardian, right?" The shopkeeper asked.

"… something like that." Machina said, patting Mariabella's hair as she tried to hide from Shion behind his back.

"I can imagine you've been under a lot of stress, sir. I guess taking a dip into the waters will do you good as well." Shion noticed he looked tired and had dark circles under his eyes, possibly from lack of sleep. "Ok, then… I'll be back in a couple of hours. You have come to the springs three times during the week and you'll be back to optimal conditions, Mary! I hope you enjoy the splash!"

"Th-thanks." Mariabella stuttered, waving her goodbye as she walked away towards the inn.

Machina pressured his assistant to come inside, giving her brief instructions on what to do inside while he readied himself. First he handed her a large towel and told her to wrap herself with it. Then, she'd have to immerse herself on the spring steadily, taking care of keeping her towel on to preserve body heat. Mariabella nodded, following through all of her master's instructions.

Machina walked in a few minutes afterwards with a towel tied around as well. He had his hair down and didn't wear his glasses. Mariabella turned her face away, which was colored bright red from shame. She'd been bare around her master several times because of her constant checkups, but it had never been the other way around. Once he had submerged down, barely leaving his shoulders above the water was she able to face him again.

"Master, can I ask you something?" Mary spoke after a few minutes of silence. Machina nodded, and the girl proceeded. "What's so special about these waters? You've mentioned them on our way here but you've never said why were they so important."

"Oh, right. I owe you an explanation." He remembered and grabbed a handful of water that drifted from his fingers immediately. "These springs are imbued with strong mineral components. The mix is incredibly good for healing the body and the mind. However, we could easily recreate these at home if we just took a sample from it. What makes it so special is the fact that the water flows from beneath the core of this land. Right on the foundation of Shangri-La lies a special and powerful Magic Stone. The water erodes parts of the Stone and erupts from beneath with its magical properties, thus impossible to recreate with science as it is right now."

Mariabella opened her eyes wide and nodded several times as her master explained, like she always did whenever he taught her something new. As he talked, Mary noticed her wounds and stitches began to disappear since she had sit down in the rectangular pool, but she knew she'd have to repeat the process at least two times, as Shion said, for a full recovery. The girl wondered how much would it heal her, perhaps it'll aid health issues from her past and make her lifespan longer. She could only hope.

She also noticed Machina was quite familiar with the topic, more than anyone who was an outsider to Shangri-La should be. Curious about it, she decided to ask:

"You seem very knowledgeable about it, Master. Is there a reason why?"

"You're quite observant. Indeed, I've come here before." Machina raised his prosthetic arm out of the water. Mary noticed he was wearing a wooden base with porcelain fingers, perhaps to avoid corrosion from water. That way he'd not damage the steel arm he always carried.

"I've never asked you about it..." Mariabella tilted her head, confused but curious. "W-what happened?"

"An experiment gone wrong. I was slightly older than you by then, when I got caught up with science and began doing research about artificial life."

"You were very young! What went awry, Master?" Mary hugged her knees and rested her heat atop them. She always did that when she became pensive.

"It wasn't that long ago, actually." Machina smiled as he shook his head. The girl noticed she didn't know how old he was. In fact, she knew little about her master's personal life. "But as I did some research on components of the human body, I misunderstood and miscalculated the dose of a corrosive chemical I used. The moment it touched my skin, it started to corrode my hand down to the bone. The pain was unbearable and the corrosion kept expanding up my forearm."

"Ugh! Don't tell me you had to..." She signaled her arm and gestured as if she was sawing it off.

"I had, indeed." Mary flinched as did her superior. It always gave him shivers remembering about that incident. "My father was an important mandatary, before being appointed governor of Leginus, so he moved his contacts and managed to get me here before the skin rotted and I lost my entire arm." The girl knew he still had the upper part of his extremity, but she imagined everything could have been worse if he hadn't cut his arm off. Mary assumed, for the result of her master's case, she'd not be getting back any lost organs in the future. "That's... That's also the time when I met Valentina for the first time." he added and glanced away in distraught.

"You seem quite bitter about her..." Her words came out sounding a lot meaner and full of spite and jealousy, which made Machina feel genuinely surprised. "Oh... I'm s-sorry Master, I think I overstepped-"

"Don't worry, you're correct." Machina leaned back, resting both arms against the marble surface of the pool and sighed. "I guess you'll be meeting her tomorrow anyway. A fair warning, dear Mary: do not say «No» to her. If things go wrong, it's better if you let me talk before it gets worse."

"I-is it that bad?"

"You have no idea." Machina sighed again, unable to avoid thinking about the sly smile Valentina always had on her face every time he met her. It was like she always was one step ahead of everyone, having an upper hand in every situation. He wondered how well could they fare the next day if the princess continued to be her usual self.


	3. Memory of Unconditional Love- Queen

Mariabella didn't wish to take a look in the mirror, frankly concerned about Shion's fashion sense. She had agreed to go shopping with her for new clothes for the evening, and she couldn't avoid becoming Shion's new dressing doll. When the girl arrived earlier that morning, she insisted on taking Mary out for a walk so that her master could rest and prepare for their meeting with Princess Valentina. Reluctantly, Mary agreed to go with her after Machina insisted it'd do her good to go out and make friends with Shion.

"I don't think it'll look good on me." Mariabella said with an angered, yet nervous voice just before she turned around to face the mirror. "Y- you picked a very gaudy dress, even if it's really pretty I think it doesn't fit me..."

"Don't be so nervous, Mary!" Shion said, fixing the neck of the dress and adjusted the straps on her shoulders. "You look lovely, I'm sure the Princess will adore it. She asked me personally to buy a nice gown for you, assuming your master would not care much about your clothes".

"He does, actually. The maids buy me a lot of clothes, but I think they're not fit for this weather. And we didn't have much time when we came here, it was an emergency after all."

"You're right about that, and I guess Lord Machina didn't expect to meet with milady, either." Shion conceded, pensive as she spoke. "She asked to meet you personally in the letter I delivered yesterday, so it's better if you look nice for her." Shion smiled kindly. She wasn't sure that was actually a good idea, knowing Valentina as she did, but it was better not to refuse her Princess' wishes. She placed her hands on Mariabella's shoulders, forcing her to turn around to look at the mirror. The aquamarine-colored gown reached down to her knees and tied around her neck, creating a serpentine shape over her figure. She didn't know how, but it was quite flattering to her body type and it hid pretty well all of the recent stitches and almost all her mechanical joints. She almost looked... beautiful. Mariabella blushed deeply and turned around again, staring at her bare feet with giddiness.

"T-that's just not me" she muttered as she shook her head. Shion grabbed both of her hands to reassure her as kindly as she could.

"I'm sure your master will love it too."

"I-I don't think he will. He's not very observant when it comes to my appearance. As long as I look healthy, he's happy." Mariabella explained, but her eyes drifted away as she blushed deeply. "Yet it'd be nice if he noticed...'

"Oh" Shion had a sudden realization, which made her smile widely. "Then I wasn't so wrong on my tracks."

"What...?"

"It' s nothing, don't mind me." The girl with the silver hair thought it was weird for the future emperor of Leginus to care so much for a little girl, when he was known to be distant and cold with almost everyone around him. She had assumed at first it might be some sort of father and daughter relationship or even a brother and sister bond that they shared, but Machina's behavior was quite odd for what was usually said about him. Seeing Mariabella's reaction changed her perspective, at least from the young assistant's point of view. Perhaps there was something that went beyond her knowledge between the two of them, and Shion knew Lady Valentina would notice immediately if something wasn't as normal as per usual. If there was someone able to bring their secrets to the table, she'd surely do it later that evening.

* * *

Valentina looked the same as Machina remembered her: an astonishing blonde woman, with long hair that flowed down to her waist and beautiful amber eyes sparkled in her round, delicate face, decorated with little make-up on her lids and her lips, an inviting tone of crimson. However, last time he'd seen her, Valentina was still a teenager, a lot shorter in height and curves. She had truly become what was expected of a city that praised beauty over everything else.

"Princess Valentina" He greeted her bluntly.

"Machina, dear, how good to see you." She walked down the staircase to the main aisle of her palace, waving her hips as she moved. She extended her arms to hug him, but Machina flinched and stepped back when she got closer. He still remembered what happened the last time, those red binds, tightening around his body as if they were to strangle him, burning every inch of skin they touched… Valentina noticed, smiling mischievously as she lowered her hands. "I see, you still don't trust me, don't you?"

"You'll have to excuse me, you Highness, but you must put yourself in my place to fully understand why I was reluctant to come in first place." Machina answered coldly. He knew Valentina wasn't as monstrous as people usually described her, greedy, vain and spoiled as a princess could be, but he was aware it wasn't a good option to get her on a bad mood. If he wanted to deny something to her, he might as well be as polite as possible.

"How sad… I had hoped that after almost five years you'd have forgiven me already, darling." She was faking remorse, but Machina knew better. The future queen of Shangri-La never asked for forgiveness. If she wished, she could do it again and Machina would, of course, be on great disadvantage. Gleipnir was truthfully a terrifying weapon. "Where's the girl you mentioned in your letter? I was eager to meet her!"

"Your squire, Miss Shion, took her for a stroll earlier in the morning." The scientist checked his pocket watch, noticing the girls were still on time for their rendezvous. He had decided to arrive earlier to the palace, in hopes he could manage to cancel their appointment. Given the fact that Valentina hadn't changed at all, his wishes died immediately. "They should be arriving soon."

"I see. In the meanwhile, we could make ourselves a little more comfortable. Come, dear." She gestured him to follow her and walked him to the dining room, accompanied by many of her servants. "Tell me, how's it been? You're looking wonderful nowadays and for the news I keep getting it seems you're prone to follow your father's steps anytime now."

"I wouldn't know about that." He said in a hushed voice, careful not to get too close to her. "My father's still in pretty good shape, and you know Leginus' government is not hereditary. It's a meritocracy. I've got little important deeds to my name so far as to deserve the throne, therefore I'm sure the crown will not rest on my head anytime soon."

"Rumors have been spreading about your father's resignation in your name, Machina." She sounded a lot less inviting now, making obvious her intentions to talk about politics. Valentina had always been clear about her desires to expand her dominion, shrouding it with kind and generous proposals of trade and commerce. The only thing that stopped her was the fact that she wasn't entitled Queen just yet. "It's only a matter of time until I'll have to bow my head to you, Your Majesty."

"The same could be said about you." Machina sighed, glancing at his clock again. Just a few minutes left, and he'd have to defend not only himself, but Mariabella as well. He knew Valentina would not leave her at peace during the whole evening, and his assistant wasn't a social butterfly to begin with. "Words reach Leginus as well about the King's health. How's your father dwelling with his illness?"

"I'm afraid it doesn't look good." She had no emotion in her voice, neither an expression in her face. The Princess smiled idly, as if the idea of her father dying meant nothing to her. "These days he looks like he's just… an old rag doll, or a puppet, I don't know."

Machina gulped. The gossip that had reached Leginus obviously included juicy details on how the King's health had diminished so much was because the one taking care of him was no other than his power-thirsty daughter. Rumor had it Valentina was killing him to get the throne sooner, but no-one had proof of that since nobody had seen the king for the past few months.

"Milady, I'm sorry we're late!" Shion's voice interrupted the sudden silence that had fallen between them. She wore a corset-like blouse and a pair of tights in a pale blue color, along with a long navy cape with golden brooches.

"Never mind, darling. I think you're just in time." The silver haired girl joined her master's side, bowing with respect to her. Valentina stretched her hand and played with one of Shion's long strands of hair, admiring her beauty with greed in her eyes.

"I'd like to introduce someone to you, as you asked personally to meet her, Your Majesty." Shion bowed again with respect, and Valentina gestured her to go ahead. As she walked towards the door she exchanged glances with Machina, who tried to conceal his worry, but Shion could notice his concern, so she asked him to accompany her to the hall.

"Machina, darling, would you please bring her in? I want to know who's making my dear friend lose his precious sleep for weeks now. I'm sure she's a wonderful lady." Valentina mocked with a sly smile.

Shion opened the door, but instead of bringing Mariabella inside or going into the hall herself, she gestured Machina to go fetch her. He thanked her without words, and walked outside the dining room with doubtful steps.

"M-master?" The corridor was unlit, but it was empty anyway. He barely noticed Mariabella was there because she had spoken, but he could not find her by sight.

"Come, Mary. She's waiting."

"I'm scared."

"I know." Machina looked around the rooms on the hall, but she wasn't there. After a few seconds, she popped from behind a column, wearing a beautiful aquamarine dress decorated with pearls and blue flowers in her head. He looked at her with wide eyes, as he had never seen her wearing anything other than the lab coats and her very discreet dresses back at home. "Don't worry. She can be intimidating, I'm sure Shion managed to scare you off, but she's not terrible. Come, I'll take care of everything."

"Are you sure?"

"When have I lied to you?"

Mariabella took his hand and he walked her back to the main room, where Valentina had already sat at the head of the table. She still had that sly smile on her face, but she seemed as surprised as Machina was just some seconds before when she laid her eyes on the young girl. She stood up immediately, which made Mariabella react with fear, hiding behind her master. Machina held her arm softly, trying to assure her everything would be fine.

"Don't be scared, child, come forth." She called as she made her way towards them.

"This is my assistant and protégée, Mariabella." Machina introduced her, holding her shoulder firmly as Valentina approached to inspect her closer. "Mary, this is Princess Valentina, she's been eager to meet you."

"You have beautiful eyes, Mariabella…" Valentina muttered, lowering herself to the girl's height. "You'd make a wonderful squire, I'm sure your master has taught you a lot."

"T-thanks, Your Highness." Mariabella bowed to her, unable to avert her amber eyes even for a second.

"Now, let's dine, shall we? Shion, would you please sing for us as we eat?"

"Of course, milady. What would you like to hear?"

"Hmm… how's about this new song you showed me the other day…? The lovers, was it?"

"That's correct. Your wish is my command, Milady." Shion grabbed her violin and sat beside the Princess, and she began singing a beautiful melody with her wonderfully soothing voice.

The two of them followed the women to the table and the servants began bringing in the dishes. Grails filled with beverages, silver trays with delicious dishes, each looking more exotic than the past began filling the table. Mariabella wondered if all that food would be just for the four of them, or if someone else might come to the diner sometime later.

Machina remained as quiet as possible as they ate, answering to the Princess with simple one-liners and in several occasions answering for Mariabella when Valentina tried to start a conversation with her. The girl was grateful, but she noticed the Princess was becoming exasperated with it.

"I have a proposal for you, Mariabella. Machina, would you be kind enough to let her answer this one by herself?" She was menacing enough to make her master remain silent, but Mary knew he had her back in the worst-case scenario. He shrugged and drank from his cup, worried about Valentina's intentions.

"What is it, Your Highness?"

"Would you like to stay here, in Shangri-La? There's a lot of space in my palace for you, and I'm sure your health will improve a lot because of my land's weather, rather than returning to Leginus' cold and polluted air." Her mischievous smile made Mariabella shiver slightly, but the proposal itself made Machina's blood boil with anger.

"I'm sorry, your Majesty." Mary answered, no trace of nervousness in her voice, just before Machina could articulate a single word. "But I have my place in Leginus by my Master's side. I owe him my life and I wish to stay with him, helping with his research as long as I'm able, so it's not my call to make."

"I see some real devotion for your beloved master, dear. Yet… I know Machina might have something to say regarding your health, won't you?"

"I will respect Mariabella's decision."

"Will you be able to drag her back to Leginus, knowing it may kill her?" Valentina's words were sharp and filled with poisonous intentions. "Wouldn't you be carrying too many guilty thoughts on your back? After all, it was your fault she almost died, you wouldn't do the same thing to her again, would you?"

"…"

"You may be right, Milady, but I've already made up my mind. My wish is to stay with Master until my time is due. Besides, my health has been compromised, if I don't have constant checkups and replacement of mechanical parts, it'll indeed kill me. I don't believe the healing springs will heal me either, so I need to be by his side most of the time in case of an emergency, as he's the only one who can do the surgery flawlessly. I hope you understand…"

"Quite a predicament." Valentina said, shaking her head. "I understand your point, dear Mary, but your master's the one who has the final say on the matter. That's not the face of someone who's willing to see you dying for the third time."

Machina had a preoccupied expression on his face, one of shock and contempt. He hated Valentina so much for things like these, she always had to take things and people away from others, it was her nature to be selfish like that. He hated her so much, because she was completely right. If Mariabella lived in Shangri-La, she'd most likely not need any further intervention. If she went back with him to Leginus, she might not even survive another year. He sighed, as he closed his eyes. Would he be able to carry the burden of her death on his shoulders once again? Just as he was about to speak and insist on making her stay, he remembered he had promised Mary not to falter her. He had promised to protect her from any harm, and at the moment, that immediate threat was Valentina and her manipulative skills. He snapped out of his trance with determination and shook his head as he glanced at Valentina.

"No."

"What did you say?"

"No, she's staying with me. I can make her better, I've been focusing my research on that for some months, she doesn't need to stay here with you." He turned around and grabbed Mariabella's hand, squeezing it softly. The girl had a surprised, yet joyful look on her eyes, which gave him a lot more confidence to stand up against the Princess. "Once… if I'm appointed King of Leginus, I'm making her my Queen."

"What…?!" Valentina, Shion and Mariabella asked in unison, all of them impressed for his sudden decision.

"M-master, what are you talking about?!"

"It seems you don't know how government works in Leginus." He sighed in desperation, feeling another headache coming up. He grabbed his temple and proceeded to explain. "We pick a King by the deeds they've done, usually they come from a noble aristocratic family and the charge is usually hereditary, which is why I'm the first candidate in line. The 'King' as we call the governor of the city can pick a partner, usually called the 'Queen'. It's not necessary a spouse, it can be a sibling, a son, a friend or, in your case, an assistant. The titles are given simulating the pieces of chess, but they hold no real noble status."

"It's like a right-hand man?" Shion asked, talking for the first time since she began singing. She had a joyful grin on her lips, almost as if she knew something Machina and Valentina didn't.

"Exactly." Machina smiled, enjoying the look of defeat in Valentina's face. "If I make Mariabella 'Queen' of Leginus, keeping her here would be as much as abducting the governor, as the Queen is as much of a Ruler of the land as the King."

"I never said anything about abduction, I was just making an offering." Valentina admitted in defeat. "Then, it's settled. You'll take her back, and you'll try to keep her alive. I hope you manage, dear, it'd be a shame if we lost something as precious and beautiful as you."

As ever, Valentina's words didn't sound sincere. She was evidently pissed, she hated having her wishes denied and she loathed being told 'No' straight to the face. The dinner ended after just a few minutes, the Princess interrupted the banquet and got up before the servants could bring the dessert. Machina insisted it'd be better if they left before anything else happened and Shion agreed it'd be for the best. She said she would talk to her superior once she had calmed down and that she'd meet them the next day, for their second session at the springs.

Mariabella followed him outside the palace, and they both caught a ferry that returned them to the main land. In their trip on the small boat, Machina sat on the deck with a tired look on his face. He was nervous, but he had managed to stand up against her without regrets.

"Master…?" Mariabella caught up with him and sat beside him, fixing the wrinkles on her dress. "Is it alright what you did back there? Do you think she'll get so angry she'll break the trading treaties with Leginus?"

"No, it's fine. She's selfish and childish and she'll probably hold it against me for a long time, but she'll not do something so drastic. It affects her country, after all. It's better if she doesn't start a Revolution against herself for ruining the economy for a temper tantrum."

"I'm sorry I complicated things."

"Don't worry, I knew she'd do that. You managed yourself a lot better than I initially expected… you even managed yourself better than me." He scratched the back of his neck, shaking his head. "I'm sorry I had to appoint you as my 'Queen' without asking your opinion before, but I found it was the only way to shut her up."

"I don't mind. It's actually… no, never mind."

"You look lovely in that dress, by the way."

"T-thank you, Master."

"Mary… in any other situation, would you stay here in Shangri-La if they made you an offering like that?" He asked, concerned. He turned around slightly, to meet her gaze as she answered his question. Valentina was right, he had never noticed her eyes were beautiful.

"In any other situation in which I hadn't met you, I would've." She blushed, fidgeting with a lock of her hair she tucked behind her ear. "But if it implies never seeing you again or never feel this happy when I'm with you, Master… I'd rather die again."

Machina ruffled her hair as they watched the sunset fall on the horizon, which kissed the surface of the water as the ferry almost reached land once again. The small girl smiled kindly, dangling her legs outside of the boat cheerfully as she expected to be able to spend another year, or as many as they'd come with her beloved master. The scientist sighed, grabbing her shoulder to bring her a little closer. He wasn't sure about his feelings towards her, he was just glad she was able to see another sunset with a smile on her face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had forgotten to edit and update the end of this one. Part 1/3 of the series is finally done! 
> 
> Next time, we'll begin at another timeline, which is a lot closer to the actual lore of the game. However, there's one thing that slightly changes the story: Mariabella never finished the experiment and she grew up until the current events in Attoractia, in which, we all know, Machina doesn't make it out alive. 
> 
> See you next time~


	4. Memory of Tragic Loss- White Lies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Machina saves Mariabella's life thanks to dubious experiments he's been conducting of her for ten years straight. Even if he has the girl's consent, he's never fully explained her the situation and guilt has been eating him alive for years. Machina confesses the truth to his beloved assistant as the world collapses in front of them, while she strives to keep her head up against tragedy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As I've explained, the timelines are different short stories that all trigger from Mariabella's 'death'. This timeline is almost exactly the same as the canon lore with the only exception that this one is a "What if Mary was a tiny, very-much-human, sentient steel-doll instead of a giant killing robot?" kind of story. I have to be honest… I cried a little while writing the end. I have my playlist for this couple and it's so sad I had a small outburst of unnecessary emotions coming out at midnight.
> 
> Written Nov 2016- Jan 2017

The young woman felt the burst of energy flowing through her veins as she activated the combat system in her programing. She charged against her opponent with a swift uppercut, followed by a high-jump kick. The man blocked the first blow with his staff and used her own strength to jump back and avoid her kick.

"Move faster!" He ordered, swinging the staff back at her, almost grazing her arm. "The enemy will not be as kind; they'll be trying to kill you."

"Yes, master. Lowering System Functions percentage, increasing Speed." The woman answered, modifying her inner programming. She attacked again, moving towards him in less than the blink of an eye and managed to land a hit on his side. The man scowled in pain and managed to duck one hit aimed at his head.

"Much better, Mariabella. Keep it coming."

"Don't go easy on me, Master." She answered with a triumphant smile on her lips. "You said so yourself, enemies won't be so kind."

"Only if you promise to stop calling me master." Machina charged towards her swiftly, launching a kick, a swing of his staff and a strike of his steel claw in a single motion. He surely knew how to fight, even if his looks were deceiving. No one would ever expect a nimble and young scientist to be a master in combat.

"You know I cannot do that, _master~_." She mocked, grabbing his arm and pulling him down to the ground. Machina rolled around and punched her with his metallic arm in the stomach. Mary endured the blow, but her eyes betrayed her composure. The artificial light on her left orb flickered for a moment and her normal, human eye closed in a gesture of pain. Her damage percentage increased, so she had to balance her System Functions again to raise her defenses and her strength if she wished to win this match. She knew, however, she'd have to do it quickly. If she kept decreasing her System Functions, she'd start to have many issues, and battling against her master would be the lesser of them. Machina cracked his knuckles as he walked towards her, before she stood up quickly and took a stance again.

"Let's try something different," he insisted, pushing his staff forward. "Switch normal defense for spell barrier, Mary. We've not tried how it works."

"You're going to have an upper hand, master... I do not have long-range attacks." She said, fixing a lock of hair behind her ear.

"Your enemy will take it as an advantage against you. Think, what would you do?" He asked as he aimed the staff at her, producing a beam of energy he didn't unleash immediately. He waited patiently for her answer.

"Use something they lack instead."

"That's right... Prepare your shield and try to repel my attacks. If you time them correctly, you can bounce them back to your opponent. That's the secret about spells and chanting magic, dear: you can always counter it."

"Yes, Master" she muttered, unsure of herself. Mary had never tried using the shields on her arms for anything else than physical attacks. There was a 50% chance the first blow would tear a limb or two apart from her body, as her master wasn't good at holding back. She just wished it was a replaceable limb, rather than one of the few human body parts she still had left.

Machina pointed the staff at her, releasing the beam with ease after a couple of seconds. Mariabella crossed her arms in front of her face, receiving the attack from the front. It didn't break through the barrier, but it managed to push her quite some distance from her original spot.

"It worked!" She said, excited. Machina smiled, insisting they were not done yet. He swung the staff again and three energy spheres came out from the top. They began chasing the girl around, who blocked two of them. The third one hit her on the back, making her lose her balance again. She immediately tried to stand up, but she felt the staff's pointy tip pressing against her shoulder.

"I told you to repel it, not to dodge it. You'd have been killed right now." He said, strictly. He frowned again, helping her get up. "Now, once more. This time try countering it, focus on its movement and power."

"Understood." She nodded backing away from him. He swung the staff again and charged the attack, but before he could release the beam, Mariabella had sprinted against him and landed a kick on his chest, knocking him to the ground. Mary took the staff from his hands and pinned it against his chest.

"Ugh... Very clever of you." He admitted, fixing his hair back as he still laid sprawled on the floor.

"Your enemy won't wait patiently for you to attack." She smiled a satisfied grin. "You're a fast learner, indeed. But you're forgetting something, dear." Machina rose his metallic claw and pointed it blindly at her face, unleashing his charged attack at her. Mariabella barely had any time to cover herself, receiving the blow directly. She was busted away from him, dropping the staff in the process. She had forgotten Machina had the ability to use both his scepter and his own body as a channeling source for spells. If she had pinned his hand, she'd have overpowered him and won the match.

Machina stood up and dusted himself off, picking up his staff steadily. He waited for one of Mariabella's usual complaints, like she always did when she lost or she was proven wrong. She usually threw a fit, adorable in its own way, but this time she was silent. Machina turned towards her direction and found her laying on the floor, unconscious. Perhaps he had taken it too far. He sighed, making his way towards her, when he noticed parts of her body were fuming.

"Mas…ter… I…" She muttered, stretching an arm in pain. She hadn't fainted as he initially believed. Perhaps she had changed her system functions once again to bear the blow, but the damage it left was so great she begun to overheat.

"Oh, for heaven's sake, Mary… don't talk." He carried her, like he always did when she got in trouble. He rushed her to the emergency room to fix her, like he always did when it was his fault she got hurt. He asked for forgiveness, and she patted his head tenderly, saying it was Ok,like she always did when he spiraled down in guilt believing she'd disappear again.

"I overdid it." He said, placing her inside of the tub with cold, hydraulic fluid. It wasn't the first time she overheated after a sparring sessions, so they already had a contingency plan.

"Oh-oh! It's so c-cold, cold!"

"Don't complain, you know it's for the best." He said as he caressed her shoulder and forced her to submerge down to her neck. Her clothes became damp as the liquid drenched them, making her body heavy and sluggish. "I'm sorry. You did a lot of progress, but we need to refine your shields. It worries me, we've not found a way to make them perfect yet and we've been working on them for so long."

"Master, calm down, I'm fine." She insisted, holding his hand to tranquilize him. "I must ask… why were you so eager about training today?"

"Well, dear Mary… I'm sure you're aware of the strange readings of energy that surged near Certo the week before, right?" Machina asked, picking a book from one of his shelves and then coming back to the tub to sit beside her as she waited for her body to cool down.

"Yes, I was with you when the radar caught the signal, what's about it?"

"Lord Arla send a messenger earlier. He says he's been getting odd readings in the winds ever since then. Lady Pricia also informed her beastly servants have been acting strange. Even Rezzard says he's been seeing abnormal notations in that book of his."

"You think something's coming, Master?"

"I'm not entirely sure. There's something bothering me further, though." He took a letter from his coat and opened it, placing it before her eyes for the girl to read it. In her swift and beautiful calligraphy, Princess Valentina requested a meeting to all the seven kings of Attoractia, whom should be reunited on Yggdrasil's hill at noon on the last day of this month.

"Valentina, huh…"

"Still not very fond of her, dear?"

"I do not like that woman. She's not trustworthy." Mariabella said bluntly, frowning deeply as she stared at the letter. "It says it's not her proposal, but from a visitor friend of Queen Faria…"

"That's what has been bothering me for a while." Machina explained, folding the letter and keeping it on his coat once more. "Queen Faria is a magnificent ruler, even if her country is at war she's managed to protect her land from Melgis' invasions. But the letter also says that the visitor has managed to issue a cease-fire between Certo and Gloria… who would be able to stop a war between the two nations? What would make them cease their hostilities?"

"Something coming that's so bad the two nations need to join forces." Mary hugged her knees, like she always did when she got pensive. "It'd also be the first time the kings are reunited for a long time, isn't it?"

"Yes, you're correct. The past time it happened, Lord Melder and Master Volga were still on their thrones. Faria's parents and the king of Shangri-La still ruled their kingdoms… I believe you weren't even born yet."

"More than twenty years ago…" She muttered, noticing her master would be just a child when that happened. By the time, an all-out war was about to break in Attoractia and the warlords had to make sure they could maintain peace one way or another. "Maybe it's just me, but it sounds like a trap, Master."

"I think the same as you, but given the fact that it is necessary we reunite, we have no other option." Mariabella grimaced. She wanted to ask him not to go, to send someone in his instead, but she knew her master was a man of principles, he'd want to go and fix things by his own hand. "That's why I'm insisting on your training. You're coming with me."

"W-what? Why?"

"You're as much of a ruler of Leginus as I am, dear Mary." He'd never taken her to any official business up until now, she was not ready, she was so young and so restless to keep up learning. "I think it's time I introduce you to the other kings."

"Master, it's an honor, but…"

"If anything happens, we're a lot better acting together." He insisted, patting her hair once again with gentleness. "A king needs his Regalia, after all."

"Master, I'm not ready." She insisted firmly. "I-I'm not sure I can protect you if... If... Wouldn't it be better to send someone in your place...?"

Mariabella stuttered, but Machina glared at her for even suggesting such a thing before she finished speaking. She shrunk as she felt his angry gaze on her, but his eyes immediately became softer. He acknowledged he'd been rough with her, even if she was simply voicing her concerns. He linked his metallic fingers with hers and shook his head, gently explaining it was his duty to attend.

"You won't have to protect me, I promise. If anything happened I'll make sure to take us both to safety, don't fret, my dear. We'll be ready by the day of the meeting. We have to." He insisted, worried she'd be right about her hunch. Valentina wasn't trustworthy and the other kings were vicious, eccentric folk, just like him. Yet, an unknown force might be bringing them together. Machina knew it all was an invitation to disaster.

That wasn't his only concern. Even if Mary's illness and her life expectancy had stopped being obstacles many years ago, he was scared her body would start to reject the implants and prosthesis. So far, she'd been a perfect match for the new body parts he'd built for her, but there was a 50/50 percent chance that they'd start to damage her organs. There were many things about the procedures he hadn't told her, but she always insisted her trust on him was blind. Mary was his to bid his wishes, at least it had been like that for ten years. There were many things he had kept hidden from her for her own good. Keeping the truth wasn't lying, was it? Yet, Machina was rid with guilt every time he had to run another experiment on his assistant.

"We may have to fix the shields, I think they got busted after your last shot... Oh, do you think we're in time to add some cool blasters?!" She said excitedly, stopping his train of thought.

"... Yes, dear. We'll see about that." He muttered with a concerned voice. Perhaps he should tell her the truth about everything, just in case anything happened. She might hate him for it, she may even abandon him afterwards, but she deserved to know the truth. Machina knew better. Keeping the truth from her was also a way of protecting his dear assistant. She was better off not knowing. Ignorance is bliss sometimes, isn't it?


	5. Memory of Tragic Loss- To call it a Massacre...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING- A friend asked me to notice them when something gory and violent came in. Please stop reading when Valentina begins talking about the Regalias, it begins around the last jumpline of the story.

The seven kings were eccentric folk, just like Machina had told her. Her master placed an arm on her shoulder and pushed her gently towards the summit above of Yggdrasil's hill, where most of the kings had already gathered. Two of them were missing, and the lord of Niflheim was arriving just as they did. He was a young, pale man with long silver hair, around Mariabella's biological age. He had a confident, yet grim smile on his purplish lips, as he walked towards Machina and greeted him with eagerness.

"Good to see you, Lord Machina, it's been a while." He said with reverence and looked towards Mariabella. His grin widened. "And this must be the miracle worker you have as an assistant, right?" Rezzard bowed down to Mary's height and eyed her with curiosity.

"Indeed, it's been a while, Lord Rezzard." He stretched his non-mechanical arm and shook the other man's hand. "Yes, she's my protégé, Mariabella. She'll be accompanying us today."

"Pleased to meet you, sir" Mary bowed at him, trying to keep her calm as she also offered a hand.

"Pleasure's all mine, milady" Rezzard answered gallantly, taking her hand and kissing her wrist. Mary felt the pressure of her Master's clutch in her shoulder tighten strongly. "A lot has been said about you two lately. Something about an undying girl about to be turned Queen..."

"I'm well aware of the rumors, but I'd thank you if you'd not spread them, Rezzard."

"Oh, I'm sure you know it's impossible for me to gossip! I take secrets to the very grave." _And then you bring the dead back..._ Machina thought, pestered. "Yet, I'm completely sure one part of the 'rumor' isn't a rumor at all." Rezzard stopped smiling and pulled up a black book with wasted paper from his coat. "A certain name has been popping up in red letters several times and the ink never dries up completely... Have you been playing God again, dear Machina?"

"You're one to talk." Machina frowned, pulling his assistant closer to get moving. It was better not to spend much time talking to the lord of Niflheim. He usually knew and spoke too much.

At the summit's table, Valentina chatted with a young, winged man with a calm expression on his face. Yet, his eyes were ever sharp and judging, analyzing every movement of those present beneath the great tree. Lord Arla greeted them as they walked by, exchanging brief words with Machina as they moved past Valentina with a simple nod. Tension between the two rulers had always been strong, so Machina pushed his assistant to walk faster as soon as he noticed the Princess of Shangri-La was smiling widely as she stared at Mariabella with morbid curiosity. He pressured her to move along until they were a considerable distance away from that merry lot. Rezzard remained separated from the other two after greeting them, as if he was waiting for something.

"Master...? Why is there a giant turtle behind the Tree...?" Mary asked as Machina took his seat and gestured her to sit besides him.

"That's one of the Beast Lady's companions, one of the Four Sacred Beasts that rule over Sissei", he explained, bowing his head respectfully at the creature who had turned its giant eyes towards them. Mariabella imitated him and nodded in understanding. "Now that I notice, that girl is absent as well, so are the other three Sacred Beasts..." Rezzard must have been waiting for Pricia's arrival. He had always been fond of her, perhaps she reminded him of that carefree childhood he never had.

"Queen Faria and King Melgis are missing, but they're not late, though..." Mary checked her pocket watch as she spoke. Her master was able to tell she was nervous. "... Quite an eccentric group, isn't it?" She asked, trying to keep the conversation on.

"You're no exception now, dear." Her master laughed, fixing the metallic mask atop of her face. It was better to keep themselves covered, just in case anything happened, Machina had readied them both very sturdy, yet light and elegant armor. At first Mary thought it might have been too much to come with full body armor concealed under their robes, but the minute she saw Valentina's sword and the other kings' weapons, she thought about it twice. At the moment, nobody trusted anyone.

Around 15 minutes later, a loud roar and a scream of victory were heard at the feet of the Great Tree. Pricia announced her arrival on top of a large white tiger, as a giant snake coiled around them. Mariabella saw Rezzard approaching the young woman, who must have been around 14 years old. The undead lord greeted her with a smile and she gave him a big bear hug as she screamed atop of her lungs she had missed him so much.

Faria and Melgis followed suite, accompanied by a dark haired knight and another man with bright golden armor. Mary had heard several legends about Lancelot and Gawain, but she never imagined she'd get to meet them in person. With a pestered look on his face, Lancelot gestured someone else to move along. A blonde girl in a beautiful blue dress climbed up the hill with Gawain and Faria's help. Just from looking at her, one could tell she was not from around there. If anything, she didn't even look like she belonged to this world.

The woman introduced herself as Alice. To all the confused bystanders, every word she said sounded like nonsense. However, both Melgis and Faria agreed to everything she warned them about: A harbinger of death and destruction was coming their way, aiming to obliterate their kingdoms. Whenever someone spoke of war and conquest, they gathered all of the Kings' attention.

Valentina kept that disgusting smile on her face as she eyed at Alice with morbid interest. Faria and Melgis were quiet, they barely confirmed or denied some facts told by the stranger, but otherwise, they had heard it all before. Arla and Master Machina asked several questions, while Rezzard looked like he had better things to do rather than being there. The undead lord played with Pricia's hair, as the girl tried and failed to pay attention to the words the blonde girl was speaking.

Mariabella tried to pay attention, but her mind was fixed on the fact that the girl looked like an alien, even if she was surrounded by so many eccentric people, Alice seemed to be the odd piece of the puzzle. She remained silent and static, as she expected something odd to happen, just because the blonde's presence was so unnerving.

After half an hour had passed, Mariabella felt an oddity around them. There seemed to be another presence roaming around the summit, a dark and dangerous silhouette waited to bounce over their heads at any moment. Mariabella didn't understand where had that instinct popped up, since she had no tracking devices installed on her body. If anything, it was something her human parts had developed themselves. She didn't want to interrupt the conversation, so she approached Machina as quietly as she could and told him there was another being coming closer and closer. Arla seemed to overhear their conversation, as he stared at the mechanical doll while he spoke to her master.

"So you've felt it too…" The angel spoke, startling the mechanical doll slightly. "It also seems the Sacred Beasts have taken notice. It's better if we interrupt the conversation right now." He insisted, raising his voice and making everyone turn around to face him. Melgis asked what was so important that Arla dared to interrupt and the Winged Lord spoke on behalf of all who've noticed there was an intruder lurking around Yggdrasil's meadow.

"T-that's impossible!" Alice said, insisting she'd placed a barrier so that no one would track them, much less ambush their meeting.

"However, it's a fact." Machina said, turning around towards Mariabella. He asked for her hand, so that he could activate her newly improved combat systems with his master key. Mariabella did as told and she felt a burst of energy once her master had inserted the key on her wrist. "Search and destroy, dear. Let's show them your prowess."

"Yes, Master." The girl pounced up in the air and her tracking system immediately targeted a man approaching the tree with steady pace. His aura seemed filled with miasma, as if his mere presence brought a poisonous air with him. Mariabella couldn't see him clearly from that distance, she identified him as a large man with pale skin and a colorful outfit. The closer she got, propelled by her new busters, she saw it was a deranged clown running wildly across the field with murdery thirst on his eyes. He had no mind of his own anymore, he was completely void of humanity and his movements were frantic and random.

An aura of death and pestilence surrounded him, but Mary didn't feel intimidated by him in any case. She darted down from the sky and aimed a kick at his head, landing dangerously close at him. A slight miscalculation. If she had propelled herself from a higher altitude, she might have split him in half with her heels. The clown laughed hysterically and threw a fiery skull at her, which made Mary jump back immediately to dodge it. She knew she had to keep her distance, since he looked a lot larger and stronger than her. Even with her mechanical parts, she still had a young girl's body which could be easily torn apart if she was careless.

"It seems you're going to need some help!" Alice's voice came from behind, the blonde girl charged at the clown with a large and beautiful sword on her hands. "Blazer, you bastard! I've been looking for you everywhere!" She screamed at him, and cut his chest with a swift strike of her blade. The clown laughed as he bled, but he wasn't even hurt that badly. "Mariabella, right? We'll take care of him! Go back to your master, more minions have appeared at the summit, it'd be better if you fight by his side. Faria, Pricia, let's go!"

Mariabella nodded, worried she might have made another mistake in leaving Machina's side. She knew Queen Faria was a wonderful warrior and perhaps she was a lot stronger than her. The three of them would not have any trouble in dealing with the clown.

Mary pounced back at the summit and covered her Master's back immediately, who looked at her estranged as he swung his sword cane at an enemy, which vanished at the touch of it. The minions were shadowy flames that had been produced by the madman, similar to the flaming skull he had thrown at her minutes before.

"Why are you back? I thought I told you to..."

"Miss Alice, Queen Faria and Lady Pricia are taking care of him. I've been requested to aid you by her. Besides…" She had to admit she was slightly excited to finally be able to join him in combat. "What is a King without his Regalia, my Lord?"

Machina smiled beneath his mask. It was the first time she called him that. He nodded and grabbed her arm to infuse some willpower into her, so that she'd work both as a shield as a weapon as he charged his attacks and aimed them at the minions. They weren't being that much of a problem, since they were both weak at their attacks and pretty much they were just wimpy spawns of Blazer. Yet, there were a bunch of them and they didn't seem to stop coming. Mariabella even had some time to look around and analyze the situation. An ambush was to be expected, but she had not stopped to think of the causes. There had to be an anomaly or something that had caused all this ruckus.

Mariabella followed the trails of the battle and each one lead her to one of the kings fighting their own set of minions. Melgis slashed them with his Laevateinn and his mighty force, while Arla and his angels hit them with arrows from above while they avoided the projectiles thrown at them. Rezzard chanted his spells as close as he could to Yggdrasil's feet, raising the death with that cursed book of his. He smiled as he had his victory assured, but Mary noticed he had tears in his eyes, perhaps he was remorseful of using the dead as a shield and weapon. The young man also carried a large scythe to defend himself in case needed, which rarely occurred since his zombies attacked anything that got near him.

Someone was missing.

"Master… where's Valentina…?" Mary asked in sudden panic. Machina had the same response, as he darted around trying to find the Princess. She was nowhere to be found. She heard him curse, and the steel doll assumed he had taken notice Valentina was probably betraying them at that same moment. The barrier could only be breached from the inside, so she had to be doing something to let the spawns come inside. Machina, however, feared she was letting something greater come inside. He turned around and noticed the clown had almost pushed Faria, Alice and Pricia back inside the barrier, but they certainly had the upper hand against him.

"Mary, listen to me…" He pulled her arm again, Mariabella believed he might increase the willpower he had infused into her, but instead, he drained all of her energy with the master key. He removed his mask and cupped her face with tenderness, as he crafted a barrier for the two of them so that the minions would not attack them as they talked.

"M-master, what are you doing…?"

"This… this may be goodbye, Mary."

"What are you talking about?!" She tried to grab his hands, but her arms wouldn't move. Not only had he drained all of her energy, but he had locked all of her non-vital functions. "Master…"

"If my suspicions are true, we've been betrayed. I cannot risk to lose you here. Please don't cry, my dear." His voice sounded so deeply wounded Mariabella couldn't keep her tears.

"Master, I'm your partner, let me fight with you! Please… Please!" She begged, but Machina didn't waver. She did notice he doubted for a second, but he shook his head immediately.

"No. Your power is greater than I expected and far greater than you can imagine. If I lose you here, all these years would have been for naught." He explained coldly, almost reverting to that austere and stoic man that saved her so many years ago. "There are many things I've not told you through all this time, Mariabella. Let me explain while we still have time..."

"No, Master, let's look for her before it's too late."

"It's too late. Whatever she's done, it's done already. If the minions spawned inside... if something bigger is coming, it's already on it's way here." His mannerisms, his way of speaking, everything returned back to the way he used to be before their time together. Mary felt hurt, but most of all, she felt as if she had been betrayed. "So please, listen to me until it comes."

* * *

Mariabella watched helplessly as the Seven Kings, minus Valentina, faced the fractured part of Alice that had gone rogue. Aided by the Princess of Shangri-La, the shadow copy of the blonde girl attacked Yggdrasil's meadow once they had dealt with Blazer. To call it a massacre would have been an understatement.  After their fight with the spawns and the monster itself, all of them were left worn down and battled. None of them, except from Machina and Valentina, had any of idea of what was about to come. A girl in Twilight garbs descended from the rift Valentina had breached on the barrier and with her monstrous Regalia, she landed the final blow on the rulers of Attoractia.

She took Rezzard first, as the Undead Lord was tired and distracted, he didn't notice the shadowy cat rubbing against him when the blonde girl struck him with his own Deathscythe and took it as her new weapon of choice. Bleeding, Rezzard tried to strike back, but before he could even manage to graze the girl, the cat grew in size and power and engulfed him completely. She walked past Faria and Arla, who tried to attack her but were intercepted by a powerful Barrier of Shadows, and then she battled against an exhausted and certainly scared Melgis, who fell to the dirty tricks the girl was playing. The remaining kings stared in horror as the Barrier of Shadows enveloped them and the menacing presence of the cat and the girl became greater with each step she took.

"Alice… you're the last hope for this world… for our kingdoms… for us." The Sacred Queen spoke solemnly as she shielded the righteous Alice from her broken self. "We cannot bear to lose you here, so please… carry on our wills, and fight! We'll stop her here, take your chance to escape!"

"Escape?!" The broken Alice mocked. "Don't make me laugh, sister! I'm not letting me go, so move out of the way!"

"I'll breach the barrier." Machina said, standing behind Faria as he pointed his swordcane at the top of the barrier and aimed the beam to make a gap so that she could escape. He didn't care at all for Alice or that forsaken world anymore. For all he cared, Leginus could go to hell and freeze over. He just had one last thing on his mind, as if saving his little girl had turned into his own dying wish.

The beam exploded the barrier and Faria threw her sword, Excalibur, at Alice. The sword immediately propelled Alice towards the air and let her escape, but Dark Alice tried to stop her with large spears made from twilight. None of them struck her, but the barrier covered itself again. Machina charged his staff again and cracked it open once more, letting a large and deadly wounded fiery bird escape from the conflict. On its claws it had an unconscious Pricia and a crying Mariabella, who stared in horror as her master stayed behind to let her escape this horror.

"No… NO! MASTER!" She tried to stretch her arms in an attempt to break free from the Sacred Beast's grip, to no avail. "Master, please, let me stay!" She screamed and cried, but he gave his back to her and walked towards the battle. "Machina, please, let me stay!"

She swore she saw her master turning around at the mention of his name before she was unable to see him anymore.

* * *

"Oh, my… you let that Regalia escape." He had finally found her. He left Faria and the others behind to battle the broken girl without a care and searched for Valentina, who Machina was sure was watching from the shadows as the battle unraveled, just that she could scavenge the remains when the conflict was over. "Dear, you must know by now that this world, all of its powers and everything beautiful belongs to me, and only me. Why did you let that precious doll escape?"

"I'd not have left her in your clutch at any cost." He hissed in pain, as his previous wounds started to charge their tally on him. "I'll stop you, Valentina, even if it kills me."

"That's interesting, you know? I'm amazed you believe you can actually stop me." She said as she wielded Laevateinn in one hand and Gleipnir on the other. "Alice, dear, please leave this one to me. I'll make sure to leave something left for your kitty to eat."

"Huh, I don't think Schröadinger will like the crunchy parts much, so you can tear those apart at ease, Valentina!" The girl said as she eyed at Machina while fighting Arla and Faria at the same time.

Valentina rushed against him and struck him with Laevateinn, which Machina immediately blocked with his staff. He felt the heat emanating from the Demon Blade, slightly scared it might touch his armor. He threw a slash in the air to distract her, though he did manage to slice some locks of golden hair as she dodged, but then he launched a beam of will at her face which she barely avoided. She laughed, insisting that if he liked to play dirty, so would she. She latched some of Gleipnir's red strings around a dying soldier and forced him to battle Machina. The soldier didn't stand a chance against the king, but he server as a shield for Valentina before she readied her next attack.

Their battle was brutal, and to any unlucky bystander it was almost impossible to say who'd win. Valentina had an upper hand since she was unharmed, but Machina didn't seem to falter in any of his attacks. He was rarely seen fighting, but those rumors about him being a skilled warrior with indomitable stamina, who turned reckless to the brink of madness when provoked, turned out to be true.

"You're starting to become a bother." Valentina said, clearly pissed off he wasn't an easy victim as she had suspected at first. Arla had already fallen and been devoured by the cat, and Faria wouldn't take much to fall either. They had to get their move on and she had no more time to spare with Machina. She decided it was time to get it over with. "Please, die."

Valentina stuck him in the chest with her bare hand, catching him off guard as he expected her to attack with her newly acquired weapons or a possessed soldier. Her fingers seemed like claws and they went through his armor with ease, as if it was molten metal. Her nails dug into his robes and down to his flesh, breaking bone and muscle without a care in the world. She punched a hole through his heart and struck it out with a swift movement, clutching the still-beating organ in her hands. The only thing that kept it beating was that Machina had modified it in the past so that if something like that ever happened he'd have a chance to fight back for it. But his situation was so dire to even have a reaction time, Valentina just tore it away with a sadistic smile on her face.

Machina fell to his knees as he breathed his last, noticing the almost lustful look on Valentina's eyes as she glanced at his heat like it was an exotic jewel. His body was growing numb and cold, and his mind was going blind quickly. He felt the shadow cat's maws engulf him with his last traces of consciousness, as he closed his eyes in defeat. At least Mariabella was safe for a little longer.


	6. Memory of Tragic Loss- Last Dawn

She laid on the grassy meadow with tears in her eyes, completely sprawled as if she was a broken rag doll. She was alone and her Master had deemed her completely useless for him. He'd rather die before using her for her destined purpose in life. Mary felt betrayed and she felt as if any will to live she had had left her body the moment her Master forced her to escape the scene. The memories of their last seconds together broke her heart as she replayed them on her head, and the tears streamed down her face without being able to stop. She whined in silence as she muttered her master's name in pain, as if she was a lost child who could not find her parents.

"What I did to you was inhuman and I should have told you the truth many years ago." He explained as they were concealed beneath his improvised barrier, before the whole thing ignited. "If I tell you this now, I'll be able to go with my conscience clean, but I ask you not to forgive me for any of it, Mariabella."

"W-what are you talking about, Master?" She kept trying to move, but her limbs wouldn't respond to her commands.

"You only needed the very first year of treatment. Afterwards, you'd have survived with a monthly infusion of willpower to your artificial organs, but nothing else." He confessed, lowering his head in shame. "I kept you in the lab so that I could continue the experiments. Your body is incredibly compatible with the mechanical parts we've been working for many years."

"In other words…"

"Yes… I've been using you for ten years straight. I'm so sorry."

"Master…" she managed to move her fingers, but her arms would not go up high enough to grab his hands, resting on her cheeks. She wanted to tell him it was fine. She wasn't angry and it wasn't like she hadn't noticed she was being experimented on. She was sure of it, and she was willing to help him as long as he didn't shove her away like her parents had done. If she could be useful to him in any way, it was more than good enough. She cried, and sadly, Machina interpreted it as if she was saddened and angered for being used in such a way. It was the exact opposite of it: she felt such joy she could have found a purpose in life, that her broken, sick, horrible body could have something good and useful for them.

"This is goodbye, Mary." He caressed her hair, like he always did when she was in pain to comfort her. "I'm so sorry." He kissed her forehead before putting his mask back on and embraced her with caution, procuring not to infuse any of his energy into her by accident. Mary whimpered and felt so weak on her knees as his arms left her side, but she could not reach him. She couldn't do anything, not even talk back so that he'd let her stay. She cried, as she felt the giant Phoenix claws latching around her waist and elevating her from the ground. Her eyes were seeing red as her beloved master disappeared from her sight, but she could not fight the bird's grip at all. She knew she had a reserve of energy stored somewhere in her body, but Machina surely programmed it not to kick in in case of an emergency. She cried, as she saw her master walking to his death and she was taken to safety against her will.

Mary cried violently as her body recovered some of its energy. She noticed she had the master key tied around her neck, in case she needed a recharge she could search for an alternate source of power on her own. That man… he was truly a genius. Even if she had recovered her energy, her own injuries and her lack of will to live didn't allow her to stand up and move. Perhaps if she waited long enough, the energy would drain again and she'd not have to face the fact that she'd get to live a life without her master.

"I swear I heard someone crying…" A little girl's voice reached Mary's ears. She eyed to her left and saw Lady Pricia rushing towards her with a worried look on her face. She had bright green hair and large red eyes that glistened with curiosity. She was scarcely dressed and the few clothes she had on her were ragged and dirtied from the battle, but Mary perceived she was not hurt from the quick scan she did on her. Mariabella grunted when Pricia sat atop of her chest, as if she was trying to smell something off of her. "Oh!" Pricia shouted, startled. "I didn't think you'd move! You're that steel doll Machina brought… why are you crying? Robots could cry, do they?."

"I'm not a robot." Mariabella said, glaring daggers at her. "I'm Master Machina's assistant and his Regalia. My name is Marybell, and I'd like if you'd not sit on my chest, please..."

"A robot Regalia? How cool~ can I call you Mary, then?" She tried to sound excited, but Mariabella could tell there was something clouding the girl's judgement. She removed herself from atop of the steel doll and stared at her with curiosity. "Name's Pricia. I didn't know machines or regalias could cry, seriously. I see you're hurt too…"

"That's because I'm not purely a machine and I'm an artificial Regalia. I was originally a human, just like you." The older girl said, trying to sit to speak face to face with Pricia, but she didn't succeed.

"I see… I'm not very good with technology, so I'll take your word for it, Mary." Pricia tilted her head, as if she was a small animal trying to perceive a sound with clarity. "Why were you crying, then?"

"I… I lost my master." She cried even harder, and Pricia regretted having asked.

"Don't cry, Mary… I lost my friends as well…" she said and glanced at the dead phoenix, who had no energy left to even turn back into ash so it could be born again. All four sacred beast had sacrificed their lives and their magical existence so that Pricia could escape. "I lost everyone as well… but I promised I wasn't going to cry."

"Friend…? I… I guess he could be called a friend… but there's nothing left to do, Lady Pricia" Mariabella said, removing her tears from her eyes. It felt odd to move her limbs again, as they were numb and stiff. "We've lost this battle."

"Then we'll fight again!" Pricia's eyes looked convinced, but there was bloodthirst on her words. "We'll find Valentina and that Alice girl and we'll take revenge for our friends!"

"Revenge, huh? I want to see my master again, but I guess he'll not come back this time. He said there's always a solution if there's a possibility to find it. Let's not give up, then." She said, even if she knew vengeance wouldn't bring her peace. At least doing something in her master's name, to honor his memory, would give her more than enough energy to live for a little while.

"Let's get moving, then!"

"Ah. I can't move quite right. I'm out of energy and I've received a lot of damage."

"My friends told me that if you hit a machine several times it'll work as if it was brand new." Pricia punched her in the chest, and Mary noticed how it reactivated her systems immediately.

"Huh. I guess it does work."

* * *

Mary was quite good at swimming, but they had to be careful not to go in too deep or for very prolonged times. She told Pricia to hold on to her shoulders so that the mechanical girl could propel the two of them with her blasters, so they could arrive to Shangri-La in no time. When they arrived at the outskirts of the peninsula, Mariabella remembered the time she had to spend on the Paradise of the Sea so that her wounds would heal properly. If only she had known Valentina would have turned into a traitor, she'd have told her Master not to trust her and finish it all before it was too late. There was no turning back the page, however. She had to live with her loss and the tragedy of not having him anymore by her side, but she had a new purpose for the time being. Find Valentina and make her pay for all she'd done.

"Who's there?" a woman's beautiful voice asked. Both Mary and Pricia froze on their spot, as they'd come at night and tried to arrive as quiet and secretly possible when no one should be around the water at that time.

"Uhm… nobody?" Pricia answered, as they both noticed a gorgeous woman with silver hair was staring at them with wary eyes. Mary opened her eyes wide, as she knew it'd be impossible to forget someone with such striking characteristics even if they'd only met twice in the past, many years ago.

"Shion?" She asked, popping out of the water carelessly and pulling Pricia with her.

"H-hey!"

"Who…? wait… Mary?" Shion's expression changed, but her eagerness suddenly turned into deep worry, "What are you doing here?! Where's your master?!"

"..." She stared away from her and shook her head.

"Oh, I'm so sorry…" Shion took her hands and handed her cape to Pricia, who was shivering from the cold. "My name is Shion, milady, for your looks I assume you must be Lady Pricia."

"That's right! So… you know each other?"

"Shion's an old acquaintance." Mary said, turning around to face her. "An old friend."

"Mechanical parts aside, you've not changed a bit…" Shion said, feeling nostalgia kicking up. When Mary came it was a time when things were different, calmer. When Princess Valentina hadn't been corrupted by power and greed. The memories she had of that time and her brief friendship with Mariabella made her feel a strange warmth in her chest. Perhaps their arrival signified she had to take control of the situation instead of wavering on the possibilities. Whatever comes, will come, she told to herself as she considered her options. "What brings you here?"

"Revenge." Pricia said, that wild and primal side of her surfacing again. She looked a lot like a hunting animal ready to stalk and kill her prey. "We came to make Valentina pay."

"How odd… would you mind if I sing you a story as a welcome gift? It's called, 'The Ruler'." They were surely sent by the gods as a sign. If Shion hadn't found her resolve already, the girl's arrival signified an omen of good luck against her Ruler. Shion smiled. Times would definitely change.

* * *

"I have to admit I'm quite impressed." Valentina said when the three women had surrounded her in her chambers. "Not because any of you is here, I mean, you two surely wished for revenge and, Shion, you've been spending too much time with those rats you began to smell like them months ago. Your betrayal was to be expected." The Princess said, calmer than the three girls wished she would be. "I'm amazed you managed to seize the city and infiltrate the castle. You must have really gotten the town all riled up to go against me."

"You'll pay… you'll pay, you witch!" Pricia hissed, almost unable to control herself. Shion's hand signaled her to stop, as they couldn't allow themselves any reckless action.

"Silence, little monkey." Valentina ordered, still acting as collected as per usual. However, Shion noticed she had begun to sweat slightly from her temple. "Unfortunately, if you come at me together I'd not be able to face you. I'll have to ask my dear old friend for help, at least he'll be able to keep one of you busy while I put the other two in place." She unsheathed Gleipnir and summoned forth the terrible red bindings. The crimson strings darted towards the ground and stuck to Valentina's shadows, then pulled the shadow itself from the ground and tied themselves around the shade's limbs.

"W...where's…" His voice was fairly familiar to Pricia, and Shion swore she had heard it before. It was Mariabella's blood which froze, as it was the voice she wished to hear the most which spoke in a husky and painful tone. "Where's my Marybell…?"

"She's right here, my dear. Please, bring her back to me, will you? I know you refused to hand her in the past, but now you're going to give her to me, right? You should know this better than me, but I know her strength lies in her heart, right? bring it to me, Machina. Bring me Mariabella's heart" There was a clear tone of sadism and cruelty on Valentina's voice. She was obviously getting high on the torture this represented for the younger girl.

"M-master…" Mariabella's eyes watered as she saw the broken creature Machina had become. He had a large gap across his chest where his heart would be, though he didn't bleed anymore. His elegant clothes were ragged, his armor had disappeared, and his mask had been torn in half. His hair was unkempt and his eyes looked hungry for blood, as if he'd become one of Valentina's slaves to destruction. She knew that was the broken Alice's cat's power, to turn people into mindless shadows of themselves, but she never imagined she'd have to face her master looking like that.

"Ma… Mary…" He grunted, but he was forced to attack because of Gleipnir's enchantment. He slashed and kicked, but this time wasn't like practice. He was truly aiming to kill her, and if she didn't fight back, he'd surely do it. There had to be a way to stop him, but she knew it most likely involved killing Valentina so that the sword would lose its effects. On top of that, she didn't know if the curse the cat had placed on him could be reverted at all. At that point, Mariabella believed only death could bring him peace at last.

"Master, please!" She dodged, telling herself to keep a defensive stand until Pricia and Shion managed to overcome Valentina. The two girls seemed to have no trouble in dealing with her, but there was something really odd in Valentina's behavior that evening. It was as if she wasn't putting too much effort into fighting or saving her life at all.

"Mary…" He muttered and managed to strike her in the abdomen with his claw. Mary clutched her arms around him, acknowledging that her plan of luring him towards her had been reckless, but such a blow would definitely not kill her. She placed the master key on her wrist and absorbed most of his willpower while she embraced him, just being careful enough not to leave him dry of strength to live. Just as she held him tight in a desperate effort to stop the fight, she noticed how Pricia and Shion finished Valentina with a stab on the rib, but the Princess of Love had a smile on her lips as she fell to her knees.

"Ah… how beautiful." She muttered as she held Pricia's shoulders. "Death is so beautiful indeed… so sad it had to be you, little monkey."

Pricia looked at her estranged, as Valentina's lifeless body fell limp on her arms. Shion carried her master so that she'd rest on her throne one last time, before deliberating she'd want her to rest at the bottom of the sea. Even if she felt Valentina had lost her way and a coup was necessary, she had a strong bond with the Princess and loved her dearly as her master. It was sad it had to be that way, but there were no other choices and no chance for hesitation. It had to be done.

"Agh… my dear… you've stopped it… thank you." Machina muttered and held her arms for support. His body was really weak, perhaps only supported by the curses he had suffered for the past month. She noticed the shadows had begun to vanish from his body, there was a chance Alice had already defeated her broken self and her cat, and the ones engulfed by the monstrous kitten had begun to revert to normal. Mariabella smiled as she held him tight while he recovered his usual self, she had never believed she'd get to see him again. The young girl embraced him and rested her chin on his shoulder, as she felt his hands cling on her back with little strength on his limbs. Perhaps these would be their last moments together, but from the way he spoke, Mariabella could tell he had reverted back to his usual self. "My love, I'm so sorry."

"Master! Oh, Master! Don't worry, M-Machina. I know why you did it, it's fine." He smiled. He loved the sound of his name on her lips.

"Ugh… guys, I don't feel so good. I'll go for a walk and I guess I'll catch Shion on the shore. I'll give you a moment so please don't move from here, ok?" Pricia said, slightly ashamed to be interrupting them on their private moment of cheerful reunion. Machina looked awful and Pricia knew he had few time left, so she did good in leaving them alone for a while.

"O-ok… come if you need anything, please." Mary said and Pricia nodded as she walked down the stairs slowly. She helped her master walk into a chair and sat in front of him, listening as he breathed with difficulty. Mary could see the circuits and wires running across his chest, but she was amazed he could still be living if he had no heart.

"If you're asking yourself how, the answer's not that simple, but I installed an alternate valve that beats separately from my original heart, just in case of emergency. Of course, it won't keep me alive for much longer unless we transplant another heart into my chest, but I think there's too much damage overall to make it."

"I know." She acknowledged and sat in front of him, but he dragged her into his arms and sat her on the armchair. "I'll… I'll carry on your will, Mast… Machina. I promise."

"I'm sure you will. Thank you for saving me, dear."

"It's no problem. That's the reason I-" Her phrase got cut in the middle because the sky suddenly turned dark. It was around noon, but the moon shouldn't be up for another couple of hours, and yet, a large red orb rose out of nowhere in the sky. An ominous wind blew across the air, which felt thick and harder to breath. The moon seemed to bleed into the sky and it dangerously looked as if it was about to collide against the earth. Mariabella shivered… whatever force Alice had warned them about, it was finally there.

"Wh-what is that?!" She asked, scared. Mary stood from her seat and walked into the balcony in a sudden panic filled with excitement and curiosity. It was sublime, just as much as witnessing up close an exploding volcano. Mary didn't know what was happening, but she was sure it wasn't good. The ominous moon signified nothing else than the very end of their existence. Machina managed to walk besides her and held her arm when he reached the balcony, just as intrigued and hypnotized by the moon as she was.

"My dear… it's the end." He hugged her, expecting her to be trembling in fear, but she was oddly calm. They stared at the sky as a large black hole opened a gap in the stratosphere and began sucking the world onto it. With no knowledge of what happened outside of Shangri-La's palace, they knew any energy that was left on the world by Yggdrasil's blessing had already vanished.

"I know…" she had tears on her eyes, but she kept smiling nonetheless. "I'm glad I was able to spend the last minutes with you, Master…" She collapsed to her knees, dragging him down with her still in a tight embrace.

"Mary…" The palace would begin to collapse soon. He inserted the master key on her wrist and began to drain it, not even absorbing it back into his body. If he could give her a painless death, at least he'd do that before it was the end. They'd go together, as the world around them vanished into oblivion. "Mary, I'm so sorry."

"I love you, Master… please don't cry."


	7. Memory of Maddened Obsession

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He couldn't save her. There's always a solution if a possibility exists, Machina kept telling himself as he spiraled down into madness, relinquishing any last trace of sanity he had in order to bring Mariabella back from the death. It was worth to lose his mind if it was for her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is our last timeline of the story, and it's only one chapter long. Honestly, I don't know how I'd write anything else for this timeline and I don't want to think too much about it anyway. Not quite an AU this time. This one goes from the "What would Machina actually be willing to do in order to bring her back? How did her death change him and what happened from then on?" kind of questions.
> 
> Written on Jan 2017

"I know it will bring you utmost joy to have your dream fulfilled, Master, so please… don't hate me for doing this." Her frail, delicate voice spoke in the recorded video she left before it happened. She had tears in her eyes, but the look on them was sincere and determined. She was going to do it. Machina was witnessing the last minutes of his assistant's short and tragic life, as she decided to leave a record behind before she ended things by her own hand. "Perhaps it's a selfish wish. I know I cannot live much longer, so this is my will to live on through your experiments. I am forever thankful for everything you did for me. These past months have been the happiest of my life, all thanks to you. So please… don't hate me, Master…"

Machina hadn't been the same since he found her lifeless body on the main lab that fateful evening past week. He rarely ate anything, he had not taken a bath, he didn't speak to anybody in his manor, he never got out of the house. Overall, he had stopped caring for his own well being since then. His eyes were popped and red from all the tears he had shed and he hadn't shaved even once, so he looked ragged and unclean. He had lost at least twenty pounds in so little time he had begun to look like a living corpse himself. The maids were worried, but there was nothing they could do.

He'd drag himself up and down the stairs with an empty stare and he'd enter the lab with heavy feet. He'd stare at the coffin he still kept on the corner of the room, expecting the body inside of it to spring back up to life. His own affected state of mind made it impossible for him to take her to the cemetery, he'd usually break down whenever someone spoke of the matter. He'd never open the lid of the casquet, though. He was too scared to look at her, to meet her face to face after everything had been his fault. He kept the heart on a crystal jar besides the coffin, covered with a cloth so he'd not look at it. The heart, which Mariabella managed to remove perfectly from her own chest, glistened with the girl's willpower, thus making it impossible for Machina to stay too much time inside the lab without feeling anxious.

He'd then crawl to his room and cry himself to sleep on his bed, but the nightmares would wake him up within minutes, screaming in fear. Cold sweat would be running down his spine and his temple and he'd whimper words of comfort until he was stable again. Machina was slowly losing his mind, if he didn't manage to get any closure on the matter, he'd go crazy any minute now. He missed her. He missed Mary's usual blabbering and her childish laughter. He missed his assistant's unexperienced comments and her youthful advice, things he had forgotten after too much years of study. He missed hearing her tiny steps being followed by that robot cat she had built as she skipped across the hall, down into the kitchen, just to grab a midnight snack. He missed her. He missed her so much it hurt.

When the nightmares were worse, however, he'd adventure himself into her chambers. She wasn't the tidiest of children, but that evening she left the world she had decided to leave everything in place, and as clean as proper as possible. The few stuffed animals she had were all laying in the bed where she'd left them, gathering dust as no one would ever play with them again. The small automatons Machina had gifted her during numerous times of the year were lined up on her desk, never to be moved once more. Her clothes were perfectly ordered on her wardrobe, and they still had a lingering memory of her scent.

He'd usually read her papers, orderly placed on her desk, or he'd take a quick peek to her diary. Mary had left it open on her nightstand with a note that said she allowed her Master to take it if he wished so, or he could just discard it. Her childish handwriting told her tragic story, and Machina was unable to go beyond page 10 every time he picked it up. She had several video logs she had registered while working on her desk and Machina would usually watch them just to hear her voice or watch the phantom images of her so that he'd not forget how Mary looked or sounded like. She'd be fixing something he had ordered her to do or she'd be working on her own experiments, but she'd usually do it cheerfully and with extra commentary. His favorite one, perhaps, was the one where she taught that tinmen automaton how to make a silly dance. She looked so happy and so proud of herself when the robot imitated her. She looked so alive. Mary only had one framed picture of her and her family, as a memento of the life she'd lost, and another one that had been made by one of the servants of the two of them. She smiled shyly on the second picture and had a slight blush on her face, as Machina's hands grabbed firmly on her shoulder. If only he'd known he would not be seeing that smile again, he'd have taken a lot more pictures before it was too late.

The only thing that moved around the room was the robot cat she had built. It was almost as if it was alive, as its sensors triggered every time Machina entered the room and the small creature coiled itself around his feet. Perhaps it believed it was Mariabella who had returned to pet it or charge its batteries, but she'd never come back to play with the "Nekobot", as she had named it. Eventually it would run out of energy, but Machina promised himself to recharge it every once in awhile. Mary would have liked that.

After a week and a half had passed, the same day he finally gathered the courage to mail her family a letter about her passing, he had terrible nightmares again. He saw her drowning on a frozen lake but no matter how much he smashed his fists against the ice, he'd not reach her on time and the small girl would die on his arms, completely drenched by the lakewater and his own tears. His chest moved violently as he tried to calm himself once he awoke, but he knew there could only be one way to fix his anxious attack. He dressed himself once again and walked towards her room in complete silence. He'd usually sit on her bed or he'd drag out the chair in front of her desk and he'd stare blindly at the ceiling until the panic was gone. Then, he'd wander around the room, enjoying the minimal traces that were left of her. But that evening, as soon as he opened the door, he noticed the cat wasn't moving.

He walked towards the small robot and tried to find its energy source, but he noticed the Nekobot had no entrance for a charger, nor any joints that lead to believe it could use a pair of batteries. He stared at it in amazement... had Mariabella actually managed to bring something to life? Even if it was just a small mechanical kitten? Machina grabbed the cat from its torso and realized something else: he'd just left the kitten to die. If he had paid more attention, he'd have noticed he'd not nourished the small 'animal' with any source of energy it required ever since Mariabella died. He'd not worried to ask anybody if they knew how she had managed to do it. It was another 'life' he had taken for being so aloof, so distant from reality. Machina sat on the floor this time, cradling the lifeless body of the cat on his arms as he felt silent tears streaming down his cheeks.

After spending the whole night without any sleep, sitting on her bedroom's floor until past 3am, he carried the cat towards his lab. Perhaps he'd be able to fix it, in the end, it had no organical parts inside of it, as far as he knew. But no matter how hard he tried, he noticed there was no hope for the cat to come back as it was before. One time he did manage to make its eyes flutter with energy, but it never sprang up to life ever again. Perhaps it was karma or a symbolism he should be reflecting on. But Machina was going out of his mind by then. Dark thoughts had begun to pester his brain, and one terrible evening he did what he'd not dared to do for weeks straight: he opened the casket.

She was still there, with her eyes closed, and it seemed not a day had passed since she died. Mary was looking as peaceful as if she was just taking a nap, and she'd wake up from it anytime soon. His original intention was to place the cat inside the coffin, so it'd keep her company in the afterlife, but the minute he saw her, as fresh, pristine and beautiful as she'd always been, Machina's mind began to break. He began elaborating plans and projects that went beyond science and machinery. Necromancy, alchemy, astrology, thanatology, all those things he had deemed heretical nonsense started to make a lot of sense now that he was desperate to try anything. The Mechanical Emperor fired all maids and servants from the manor and locked himself up in his lab, as he kept the coffin closed so he'd not get distracted by the source of his nightmares. But he was sure he could bring her back. For the first time since forever, he took a look at the mechanical heart that rested on the crystal jar. If he paid attention closely, he noticed it still beat slowly. He could bring her back! There was a possibility!

One night, however, things went south real quick. It all happened after he'd managed to put himself back on his feet and even if he focused all of his energy into finishing his new research, which had driven him to the brink of madness. He was so concentrated on his notes he'd not noticed someone had climbed up his window and was staring at him with utmost curiosity.

"Well, well, rumors are true. You've gone completely bonkers." The voice startled him and Machina dropped his cup of coffee all over the desk. He sighed and picked up the mess as quick as he could, ignoring the source of the voice as best as he could. His presence didn't bring any good news, and in fact, him being here made Machina nervous.

"What are you doing here, Rezzard?" He asked with a husky voice. It had been days since he had last spoken that his throat ached as the words came out.

"Hmm, I was strolling down at my palace around a month ago, reading my book as always, when I noticed that name on red letters had finally turned gray." He smiled a satisfied grin. "However, since past week, I believe I've seen those gray letters getting a nasty and annoying tint of pink. Perhaps you know something about it, milord?" Rezzard mocked, taking out the Book of the Death from his coat. He turned the pages quickly, trying to find the name.

"It's none of your business." Machina grunted, pulling Rezzard inside the palace and shoving him out of the lab. He was such an annoying kid, and Machina was even more upset he'd managed to find a way to teleport himself from graveyard to graveyard after he discovered his powerful abilities amongst the dead and the Underworld. "Now, please, leave."

"No." Rezzard's smirk turned into a terrifying grin, which bared his fangs dangerously. "No, I'm sure you'd like to hear me out, milord. First of all, you should stop this crazy endeavour of yours. My book doesn't lie, and the ink on your name doesn't look as fresh as it should be. Your obsessions, your madness, they're going to kill you."

"So be it. Now get out." Machina ordered, pushing the youngster outside of the lab. "I'm sure you came with your parents, now, get back to your home."

"Ah, sir… I bet you didn't know about it. My parents… well… how to put it?" He kept smirking and it made Machina even more nervous. Rezzard always knew too much. "They're not as alive as I'd have wanted. At least my dear mother isn't."

Machina understood what he meant. He'd heard some sort of freak accident had happened on their manor some months ago, but he didn't imagine Riza and Melder didn't make it out. Words have been moving slowly even since then and, being completely honest, ever since Mariabella died he'd not give a damn about them. However, there was something odd in the way Rezzard had phrased his sentence. _They are not as alive as I'd have wanted…_

"What did you do to them?" Machina asked, scared.

"Heh… what if I told you I can bring your dear assistant back to life?" Machina's eyes opened wide in surprise, and he was willing to listen to whatever he had to say. Had his sanity had decreased so much he was betting his hopes on Rezzard…? No. Whatever logic he had left of his mind told him not to trust him. The child, not older that Mary himself, was unable to control the powers he had discovered. Machina knew that for certain.

"I'll listen to you just once." Machina doubted his own thoughts and decided to pay a second of his time to him. "Afterwards, you'll leave."

"Thanks, milord! You see, I discovered a technique to bring the dead back to life… however, my craft is forbidden in most places and as such, I've not perfected it yet." His grin grew larger, if that was even possible. "If someone as powerful as the King of Leginus, with whom I share a common interest of reviving the dead, would allow me to realize some experiments on some fresh corpses around his city… well, I might as well perfect the craft in no time. His beloved assistant would be back to his arms if this happened, 100% guaranteed."

"Necromancy is not safe." It wasn't like Machina hadn't investigated the topic himself. "Besides, it's never been proven useful before."

"Ah, that's because my predecessors didn't have my talent, nor the resources necessary to do so!" He patted Machina on the arm and the older man felt a shiver run down his spine. It wasn't his sanity kicking in to save him, but mere wit and instinct telling him not to trust any word that came out of the young necromancer's mouth.

"I'm not interested. Now leave." He glared at him and Rezzard pouted, like the little kid he was. He shrugged and ran back to the window he had crawled from and jumped down into the snow, where he vanished as he walked down the street. From afar, Machina could only distinguish his coat blowing with the wind.

He knew he couldn't trust unfounded methods like those. He had studied them before and he knew they weren't the answer. No, the true answer to bringing her back laid on the heart. The mechanical valve kept beating, slowly and quietly, but every few minutes it'd pulsate some Will out of it's core. Machina observed it with morbid curiosity and analyzed the possibilities from whatever topics he'd roamed around, down to concrete proof. The body may rot and die, but the soul remains. That's why necromancy didn't work: the bodies were left behind whilst the soul had vanished long ago. Whatever Rezzard suggested implied using the body inside the coffin, but it never had anything to do with the heart and the soul inside the jar.

He wondered… perhaps leaving the physical entity behind was necessary to complete his research. If the soul could be transported into a mechanical core… if that was the case, both his previous research and the new one could be completed together! Just how blind had he been not notice he could bring her back by giving her a new, healthier and stronger body? Machina smirked. Perhaps it was time to take Mary's body to her final resting place. He'd decided to bury her beneath that large weeping willow she liked so much in the garden. Yes, he was sure Mary would have liked that. But, perhaps, he could give her a second chance. He knew he didn't have much time to craft her the most beautiful body he could think of, as he wasn't sure if the heart would be able to remain alive much time, but he could do something with it. It was a promise he planned to keep, no matter what. After being such a blind fool all that time, it was the least he could do.


End file.
